Looking for a perfect tune for your workout?

你在寻找最适合健身的音乐吗？

Michael Jackson's 'Beat It' has the optimal beat. So does 'Gangnam Style' by Psy and Lady Gaga's 'Edge of Glory.'

迈克尔·杰克逊(Michael Jackson)的《走开》(Beat It)节奏非常理想。朴载相(Psy)的《江南Style》(Gangnam Style)和嘎嘎小姐(Lady Gaga)的《荣耀之巅》(Edge of Glory)也是一样。

Research has found that at the right tempo, music can reduce the sense of exertion as well as boost motivation. Costas Karageorghis, deputy head of research at the School of Sport and Education at London's Brunel University, says the 'sweet spot' for workout music is between 125 and 140 beats per minute when people aren't trying to time their movements to the music. Previously, experts believed that the faster a person exercises, the faster the music tempo should be。

研究发现，节奏适当的音乐能够减少疲劳感并增强积极性。伦敦布鲁内尔大学(Brunel University)运动与教育学院(School of Sport and Education)科研副主管科斯塔斯·卡拉乔吉斯(Costas Karageorghis)说，健身时音乐的理想节奏是每分钟125到140拍，这时人的动作能较为轻松地跟上节奏。很显然，专家认为一个人运动的节奏越快，相应的音乐节奏也应该越快。

Other new studies have shown that when athletes synchronize their movements to a musical beat, their bodies can handle more exertion: Treadmill walkers had greater stamina and cyclists required less oxygen uptake. And swimmers who listened to music during races finished faster than others who didn't。

其它新研究表明，当运动员的动作与音乐节奏同步时，他们的肢体会更有力量：在跑步机上慢跑的人会有更强的耐力，而单车骑行者需氧量也会减少。游泳者在比赛时听音乐会比不听的人更快到达终点。

'Music can alter emotional and physiological arousal much like a pharmacological stimulant or sedative,' says Dr. Karageorghis, who has worked as a consultant psychologist to music and sports-equipment companies and for Olympic athletes. 'It has the capacity to stimulate people even before they go into the gym.'

卡拉乔吉斯为音乐和运动器材公司以及奥运会运动员担任心理咨询师。他说：“音乐可以调节情绪并带来生理上的刺激，就像兴奋剂和镇静剂。它甚至能够在人们走入健身房之前就给予他们激励。”

The benefits of music seem most pronounced during low-to-moderate-intensity exercise -- in other words, it's more effective for recreational exercisers than elite athletes, scientists say. And finding just the right beat isn't difficult, as a lot of popular music falls within the optimum tempo range and most other musical genres also have music in that range, Dr. Karageorghis says. For classical music buffs, two pieces that work for him are Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, known as the 'Eroica' symphony, and Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor. Other qualities that make music ideal for workouts are motivational sounds and lyrics -- think the theme from 'Chariots of Fire' with its associated image of men running on the beach。

科学家表示，音乐的益处在低强度到中等强度的运动中表现得最为显著──也就是说，音乐对于休闲性的运动比对竞技运动更为有效。卡拉乔吉斯说，找到适合的节奏并不困难，因为许多流行音乐都符合理想节奏的范畴，大多数其他类型的音乐也有在这一范畴内的曲目。对于古典音乐爱好者来说，贝多芬(Beethoven)的降E大调第三交响曲也就是《英雄交响曲》(Eroica symphony)以及莫扎特(Mozart)的G小调第40号交响曲是两个不错的选择。还有几个决定音乐是否适合用于健身的因素是，激励性的音调和歌词──想象一下《烈火战车》(Chariots of Fire)配上人们在海滩奔跑的画面。

Sylwia Wiesenberg, owner of Tonique Fitness in New York City, says she keeps tempo in mind when compiling playlists for her two-hour cardio and body-sculpting class. 'The hardest part of the class is the first 15 to 20 minutes,' she says. 'I use music as my powerful instrument to push people harder,' she says。

纽约市Tonique Fitness健身中心的老板席尔维娅·维森伯格(Sylwia Wiesenberg)说，她在给两小时的有氧运动和形体雕塑课程编排音乐列表时，会时刻注意节奏。“课程最难的部分是开始的15到20分钟”，她说，“我把音乐作为鼓舞士气最有效的手段。”

Ms. Wiesenberg starts the class with songs that have 115 to 117 beats per minute -- such as 'The Longest Road' by Morgan Page -- then increases that to about 125 beats. Finally, the workout peaks with music at about 135 beats per minute, including 'Beautiful World' by Tiesto &Mark Knight featuring Dino. A month ago when the speakers in her studio weren't working, 'the class had a totally different atmosphere and energy,' she says. 'People were stopping.. . .I'm so dependent on the music that I don't even see a point to doing a class without the music.'

维森伯格以每分钟115到117拍的音乐来展开课程，例如摩根·佩奇(Morgan Page)的《漫漫长路》(The Longest Road)，之后加快到约每分钟125拍。最后，在运动达到最佳状态时，音乐的节奏是约每分钟135拍，其中包括铁斯托(Tiesto)和马克·奈特(Mark Knight)与迪诺(Dino)合作的《美丽世界》(Beautiful World)。一个月前，当健身房里的扩音器出故障时，“班上的氛围和干劲截然不同”，她说。“人们都停了下来……我非常依赖音乐，无法想象没有音乐时如何上课。”

A study published last year in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness found that cyclists who synchronized their movements to music reduced oxygen uptake by as much as 7%. The study tested three different musical tempos on 10 men who cycled for 12 minutes at 70% maximal heart rate。

一项去年发表于《体育医学与健康杂志》(Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness)的研究发现，将动作与音乐同步的自行车骑行者可减少需氧量多达7%。研究要求10位男性以最高心率的70%骑行12分钟，并在骑行时测试了三种不同节奏的音乐。

Another experiment, involving 30 people walking on treadmills, found that exercising at the same tempo as the music boosted endurance. One group of participants walked with motivational music, another with neutral music and a third with no music. Endurance increased in both groups listening to music, although the motivational music had the greatest effect. The study was published in the Journal of Sport &Exercise Psychology in 2009.

另一项研究要求30个人在跑步机上行走，结果表明健身时与音乐节奏同步会增强耐力。一组参与实验者行走时伴随激励性的音乐，另一组是普通的音乐，第三组没有音乐。听音乐的两组耐力均有增加，而听激励性音乐的一组效果最为显著。这项研究发表在了2009年的《体育与运动心理杂志》(Journal of Sport &Exercise Psychology)上。

Experts say most of the benefits of working out to music come from psychological factors. 'When people run with music their rate of perceived exertion is lower than if they don't use music or other devices,' says Gershon Tenenbaum, director of the graduate program in sport and exercise psychology at Florida State University. These benefits tend to evaporate once a person begins exercising at very intense levels, he says。

专家认为健身时听音乐的益处主要来自于心理因素。弗罗里达州立大学(Florida State University)体育与运动心理学研究生项目主管格森·特南鲍姆(Gershon Tenenbaum)说：“人们在跑步时听音乐比不借助音乐或者其他工具时感觉省力”。而一旦当运动强度变得很高，这些益处会渐渐消失。

Dr. Tenenbaum says similar benefits have been observed when athletes are told to imagine they are in a certain location, such as at the beach, or are exposed to particular smells, such as lavender。

特南鲍姆说，在运动员被要求想象自己身处特定环境，例如在海滩上，或者闻到某种气味，例如薰衣草时，类似的益处也会体现出来。

David-Lee Priest, a researcher at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, says music is able to divert attention through a neurological mechanism. The unpleasant feedback from exercising, such as difficulty breathing, sweating or stiff muscles, is transferred to the brain using the afferent, or sensory, nervous system. Listening to music interferes with the transmission of those sensations, he says. 'Before you become aware of the fatigue the music will block out the sensations of fatigue and effort so you won't fully notice them,' he says. That blocking occurs only up to a point -- about 70% of one's maximum capacity, he says。

英格兰诺里奇(Norwich)东安格利亚大学(the University of East Anglia)的研究者大卫-李·普利斯特(David-Lee Priest)说，音乐能通过神经机制转移注意力。健身时出现的令人不快的反应，例如呼吸困难、流汗或者肌肉僵硬，会通过传入或感觉神经系统传递至大脑。听音乐会对这类感觉的传递产生干扰，他说。“在你感到疲劳之前，音乐会阻断疲劳感和费力感，所以你完全不会注意到。” 他还补充道，这种阻断作用只在特定的时候出现，也就是一个人使用最高体力70%的时候。

With resistance training, the benefit of music occurs more before one starts exercising or in between sets, Dr. Priest says. 'It's like taking a mild stimulant.. . .It will increase your heart rate and blood pressure slightly.'

在锻炼时加以控制，音乐的益处就能在开始运动前或者运动间隙时显现，普利斯特说。“这就像服了温和的兴奋剂……它能够让你的心率和血压略微升高。”

In a recent study, Dr. Karageorghis and colleagues tested the effects of music on swimmers. After three weeks in which the athletes got used to swimming with ear buds, the researchers conducted three experiments using 26 collegiate swimmers who completed the 200-meter freestyle trials. They listened to motivational music, neutral music and no music. Both music groups saw a three-second improvement in performance compared to their race times without music. Although this represented just a 2% improvement, Dr. Karageorghis says it's enough to make a difference in the realm of competitive swimming。


在近期的一项研究中，卡拉乔吉斯和同事们测试了音乐对于游泳者的作用。研究者先让运动员用三周时间适应了戴耳塞游泳，之后与26名完成了200米自由泳的大学游泳健将进行了三项实验。他们听了激励性的音乐和普通音乐，或者不听音乐。听音乐的两组相比不听音乐时成绩提高了三秒。尽管只提高了2%，卡拉乔吉斯说这足以对竞争激烈的游泳界产生一定影响。

Swimmers listening to music also reported a 10% jump in their level of motivation, compared with swimming with no music. The study, scheduled to be published in the journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise, was sponsored by swimwear company Speedo International Ltd。

相比于不听音乐游泳，听音乐的游泳者在积极性方面也提高了10%。这项研究得到了速比涛公司(Speedo International Ltd。)的赞助，计划发表在《体育与运动心理学》(Psychology of Sport and Exercise)杂志上。